"The people of Dahe Village have done a great job in opening canals to divert water, and they have made great contributions in controlling and killing locusts. After discussing with the prefect, the field tax revenue in Dahe Village has been reduced to one-fifteenth in the past three years!"
When Master Yuan's voice fell, everyone in Dahe Village was stunned.
In previous years, the tax was one-tenth. When the annual performance was not good, it would even rise to one-fifth. They were worried that this year the court would impose excessive taxes and take away all the food. Unexpectedly, the tax was reduced, and the tax was reduced. for three years.
Thinking about it carefully, they didn't do anything, they just did their part and protected their own fields, so why were they rewarded?
Master Yuan coughed: "Continue to obey orders——"
Originally, Dahe Village had merit in suppressing bandits, but Zhao Lizheng did not dare to take the credit, mainly because there were other bandits within the jurisdiction of Ping'an Town. Zhao Li was afraid of being targeted by other bandits, so he begged the county magistrate not to publicize the matter, but this reward was not To be distributed.
"The villagers of Dahe are honest and simple, Zhao Lizheng has a sound governance, and the whole village unites to overcome the famine. It is truly a model. The county magistrate specially assigned one thousand acres of unowned wasteland near Dahe Village to Dahe Village!"
These days, there are fewer people and more land, and there is even more wasteland. This thousand acres of land is just behind Dahe Village, and it is all grass and rocks.
The corners of Zhao Lizheng's mouth twitched. Although wasteland can be sold for money, the people in Dahe Village are poor, and most of the land in their families is passed down from their ancestors. Unless there are many thieves in the family, they will think of buying wasteland to open up wasteland. After so many years, There are still more than 100 acres of wasteland in the village that no one has bought. This extra 1,000 acres may be lost to others again.
However, Li Zheng is not a greedy person. The county magistrate personally came to discuss merits and reward him. This was a great event for their Dahe Village. In so many neighboring villages, no one had ever been rewarded by the official.
In the past, Zhao Lizheng felt that there was no school in his village and he felt a little short in front of other villagers. After that, he could straighten his waist and behave as a human being.
Master Yuan continued: "The county magistrate heard that the method of opening water canals to kill locusts was proposed by Zhao Cheng after experiments..."
Cheng Wanwan was kneeling in the crowd. She tried her best to reduce her presence and secretly sat her buttocks on her heels so that she would not be too tired while kneeling. When her name was suddenly mentioned, she immediately knelt down obediently.
"Zhao Cheng is extremely intelligent and gentle. The county magistrate specially rewards you with one hundred taels of silver!"
Master Yuan waved his hand.
The yamen servant next to him came over with a red lacquer tray. The red cloth was uncovered and there were ten ingots of white snow silver, a total of one hundred taels.
The people in the village boldly looked up, and when they saw so much silver, everyone took a breath... I'm a good boy, one hundred taels of silver, no one in the village has ever seen such a large sum of money. With so much money, will I be able to have a full stomach every time in the future...
Cheng Wanwan was also startled.
The method she proposed to open channels to exterminate locusts was actually to protect herself, and also to pave the way for Cheng Zhao.
She never expected that the county magistrate would be so generous as to reward her with one hundred taels of silver. This was money that fell into her hands openly. She could buy land, build a brick house, and do many, many other things. thing……
After Master Yuan finished discussing merit and rewards, County Magistrate Shen said: "I am a person who distinguishes between rewards and punishments. As long as you have merit, you can receive rewards. I am open to wise suggestions. If you have any suggestions, you can come to the county government to give them." .”
Cheng Wanwan secretly gave a thumbs up in her heart. Generally, officials hate their subordinates' nagging opinions. However, County Magistrate Shen took the initiative to ask people to go to the county government to express their opinions, and the people he spoke to were still farmers in the village. People, that is to say, Magistrate Shen has no intention of looking down on farmers deep in his heart. He should be a good official.
"Everyone, get up."
Magistrate Shen waved his hand.
The people and villagers who were kneeling on the ground dared to get up, and everyone secretly took a look at what the county magistrate looked like.
This is not the first time that Magistrate Shen has come, but the distance last time was too far and the villagers couldn't see clearly. This time it was a close-up observation. The villagers remembered the eyes, nose, and mouth, and planned to do it next time. Go show off with people from the next village.
As Magistrate Shen walked through the winding courtyard, the villagers took the initiative to move out of the way and stayed away silently. Ordinary people were naturally afraid and awe of officials.
County Magistrate Shen stopped in front of Cheng Zhao: "I asked about you, but it's just children who are fooling around, and the headmaster of Nanfu Academy is letting them act like crazy. I will talk to Magistrate Zheng of Fenghuang Town tomorrow, no. Then you can go back to Nanfu Academy to continue studying."
There was disbelief in Cheng Zhao's eyes.
He thought that he would have to come to the house to ask for justice, and then the county magistrate would seek justice for him.
He cupped his hands and said, "Cheng Zhao thanked the county magistrate for his help. However, Cheng Zhao decided to study on his own and would not go to Nanfu Academy again. Please forgive me, the county magistrate."
Old Mrs. Cheng who was standing on the side was shocked at first. Her second daughter was actually rewarded by the county magistrate. She wanted to find an opportunity to get the one hundred taels of silver. Before she could make a clear plan, she heard it with her own ears. When the county magistrate wanted to stand up for her precious grandson, she was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. Before she was over happy, she heard Zhao'er say that she didn't want to go back to Nanfu Academy again...
Nanfu Academy is the best academy in all the nearby counties. Why don't you go back to study!
Mrs. Cheng was about to stand up and speak immediately, but was held down by the head of the Cheng family.
Old Mrs. Cheng realized that the magistrate was still here, so how could he embarrass Zhao'er by talking nonsense? We would discuss this matter later.
"It seems that you have a plan in mind." Magistrate Shen said, "Don't worry about the college examination. I will personally send someone to vouch for you."
Patriarch Cheng pulled everyone in the Cheng family to kneel down: "Thank you so much, Lord County Magistrate. The Cheng family would like to express their gratitude..."
Cheng Zhao was overwhelmed with admiration. If he could become an official one day, he would also want to be a parent official like Magistrate Shen, doing things for the people and standing up for the people...
Zhao Lizheng stepped forward with a smile and said: "Your Excellency, why don't you stay and have dinner before leaving?"
Their village should be relatively wealthy now. Wasteland costs eight cents per acre, and one thousand acres costs eight hundred taels. How could they not invite the county magistrate to stay for a meal after receiving such a huge sum of money?
County Magistrate Shen waved his hand and said: "Every household has no surplus grain, so I won't stay here to eat the people's life-saving grain. When the grain comes into the warehouse after the autumn harvest, I can shamelessly come to ask for a meal."
When the autumn harvest was mentioned, Cheng Wanwan's eyes moved.
She raised her head and said, "Your Excellency, the county magistrate, this woman has something to say."
Magistrate Shen's expression suddenly became serious. Several of the methods proposed by Zhao Cheng were proven to be correct. Since she had spoken, it must not be a trivial matter.
What Cheng Wanwan wanted to talk about was about regenerated rice, but he brought it up under the guise of eradicating insect eggs.
The first step in regenerating rice is to leave enough rice piles. Regenerated tillers will grow in less than ten days, and everything else will fall into place...
The county magistrate rewarded her with one hundred taels of silver, so she didn't mind telling her about it. Besides, the regenerated rice might not grow yet.
She said methodically: "... Leave at least eight inches of rice piles. After the autumn harvest is completed and the rice piles are dried by the sun, turn over the soil and burn the fields. This can kill the insect eggs hidden in the soil layer..."
County Magistrate Shen nodded frequently: "Master Yuan, write down Zhao Cheng's words and read them to all the villagers tomorrow..."
